If The X-Men Worked In IT

(November 09, 2012)

DMN Newswire--2012-11-9--

Author: Nick Mueller, Zetta.net

It's at least half a year before we get another Marvel Avengers-related movie and nearly two (July 2014) before the next X-Men: First Class sequel. And since a successful IT team is composed of a cast of characters with superhero-like traits here's a look what some of the X-Men would do if they worked in IT.

Do the portrayals of them match your team? Drop a comment about which character you are.

The CIO - Professor X

What He Does:

Since he's able to read minds, he uses his powers to negotiate amazing deals from vendors and direct the "school for gifted youngsters" technology roadmap for international expansion.

How He Benefits The Organization:

The Professor has demonstrated the creativity and sophistication to determine when to leverage existing capabilities and when to build (or buy) new solutions. He's a results-oriented individual with strong influencing, problem solving and negotiation skills, and tons of experience operating within a large, matrixed, global organization.

Of course, he also has about 49 years of experience (counting from his appearance in X-Men #1) building, growing and mentoring teams with an inspirational leadership style that promotes innovation and fosters commitment to a shared vision.

IT Director - Cyclops

What He Does:

Scott Summers has learned from his mentor Professor X, and can execute IT strategy by planning, delivering and supporting technology solutions with top quality leadership within his business unit.

How He Benefits The Organization:

Cyclops uses his personal integrity to help assure the integrity and reliability of computer systems. Because of his history of accidentally destroying servers with his, ah, "heatless ruby-colored concussive force," he is very focused on reliable backup and disaster recovery. He's a Zetta customer, naturally, and is a huge fan of the 3-in-1 backup, DR, and archiving solution.

Iceman - Data Center Cooling Specialist

What He Does:

Iceman is the a master of optimizing data center air flow, temperature, and humidity. Virtually all mission critical data centers and commercial office environments require a sophisticated, precision air flow and cooling solution, and no one is better at cooling than the Iceman.

How He Benefits The Organization:

Iceman's mutant power means he can cool any datacenter in the most environmentally and economically friendly way possible. Cost savings from reduced power use means that having Iceman in the server room basically pays for itself. While Facebook had to build a datacenter in the far north of Sweden, any IT organization that hires Iceman gets the benefits of "natural cooling" anywhere. Of course, the only drawback is having to buy a redundant cooling system for when he goes home at night.

Tier 3 Technical Support - Wolverine

What He Does:

For IT problem resolution there's no one better. His Adamantium claws will certain come in useful for opening stuck doors, racks, or plenums ? and his healing factor makes him a good choice for opening boxes that don't look safe, and talking to the most irate users.

How He Benefits The Organization:

While Wolverine has strong skills in problem solving and resolution he's weak when it comes to collaborating and providing a pleasant follow up to user issues. He's the best at what he does, it's just that what he does isn't very nice.

Now it's time for the team to get back to migrating Cerebro to the latest version of Ubuntu, and integrating its mutant-locating features with Google Maps, and adding mobile access from iOS and Android.